Outdoor Discovery STEM Bins®

Description

Also includes a STEAM version!

Outdoor Discovery STEM Bins® and STEAM Bins are natural engineering centers that are ideal for outdoor classrooms, outdoor learning centers, or occasional outdoor excursions. They are also a creative and developmentally appropriate form of natural engineering for elementary students.

Listed materials for each Outdoor Discovery STEM Bin are found in nature or at craft stores such as Hobby Lobby. Many flooring stores or rock and stone stores will also donate material scraps for your children to build with. Children can gather items from nature on their own at home or on the school grounds, and you may choose which materials that you feel are best for your outdoor learning environment. Additional STEM materials and photos can be added to the EDITABLE STEM Bin Covers in the separate file.

To assemble your Outdoor Discovery STEM Bins, You will need waterproof plastic containers to hold the materials and task cards. Sandwich storage boxes work great. My pictured containers are from the food storage section at Dollar Tree and were 3 for $1.00. Laminate the STEM Bin covers and adhere to the front of the containers using Velcro dots or hot glue.

Although free-choice, creative engineering is highly encouraged with Outdoor Discovery STEM Bins, task cards with real world structures are also provided to inspire students. Task cards should be laminated and attached to metal rings in several sets so that students can create multiple structures using one material. This allows them more flexibility because certain materials lend themselves more easily to certain types of structures. This also allows them to persevere, explore, and test with one material for a more extended period of time.

The management of your Outdoor Discovery STEM Bins is completely up to you, as they can be used during multiple times of your day. Students can take bins outside during brain breaks or a scheduled outdoor discovery time. “Challenge Yourself” cards are provided to take structures to the next level, allowing students to improve and enhance their structures. Teacher Questions and Prompts are also provided.

Includes the following:
Page 3: What Are My Students Learning?
Page 4: How to Use
Page 5: Teacher Questions and Prompts
Page 6: Parent Letter
Pages 7-8: Nature Hunt
Page 9: My Outdoor Creations (Foldable Booklet)
Page 10: My Outdoor Creations (Pictures/iPad Template for Pic Collage Kids app)
Pages 11-13: STEM Bin Covers with Labels & Photos
Pages 14-15: Basic Engineering Skills posters
Pages 16-18: STEM Bin Task Cards
Page 19: “Challenge Yourself” extensions
Page 20: Credits

***Separate File: EDITABLE Outdoor Discovery STEM Bin Cover to add your own photos and materials and EDITABLE task cards***
***Separate File: STEAM Version of all materials

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©Brooke Brown, LLC at Teach Outside the Box
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